Archives

Argentine Beef Stew in a Pumpkin | Carbonada en Zapallo

In 2011 a young Argentine man went viral in a 6-second video when he laughed about the cost of a burger at a soccer stadium. His exact words were: Con quince peso me hago alto guiso.pum For 15 pesos I could make quite the stew. To put this young man’s remarks in perspective, 15 Argentine pesos is just under $2 USD. It seems as though, relatively speaking, overpriced stadium food is a shared phenomenon – as common as rainy days and sunny dispositions. What is remarkable – and what made the young man’s comment go viral – is the assumption that good, homemade stew can be made for the cost of an overpriced burger. I looked into his logic: here in the USA an overpriced stadium burger in Silicon Valley goes for $12. Surely, I could make a soup for less than $12, even shopping at costly American grocery stores. Testing the theory… Curious (and inspired), I began looking into Argentine stews – sending me down a delicious rabbit hole of beef and root veggie based bowls. I finally emerged …

Read More

Grilled Corn rubbed with Chili & Lime Salt

Makes 1/4 cup seasoned salt for lots of corn goodness. Can you squeeze a lime? Can you smash chili peppers into a mini mound of salt? Can you grill corn? This is one of those recipes that you make on a day, much like today, when you want to prepare something impressive, but you can’t be bothered to do very much. We owe it to the lovely people of Kenya: take a walk down their bustling streets and you’ll likely find vendors selling roasted corn rolled in a spicy blend of chili, fresh lime juice and salt. The corn is cooked until deeply roasted. It’s for real good. Ingredients: corn on the cob 1/4 cup rock salt 2 small chilies, sliced or more to taste lime juice (about 1/2 lime juiced, or to taste) Method: Let’s head to Nairobi, where – certainly – inspiration will strike. The beautiful thing about this recipe? Everything is to taste. I ground 2 sliced chili peppers into 1/4 cup rock salt… Then squeezed in the juice of half a …

Read More